Cold Plate Nickel Plating Prevents Coolant Oxidation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
High-performance semiconductor chips and computing systems face thermal management challenges due to increasing power consumption, which traditional air-cooling methods cannot effectively address, leading to degradation of cooling efficiency and reliability in liquid cooling systems where copper components oxidize or tarnish when exposed to coolants like water.
Innovation Solution
Applying a protective Nickel plating to the copper surfaces within cold plates to prevent oxidation and tarnishing, and using a low-temperature sealing process to maintain the integrity of the Nickel layer during assembly, ensuring the Nickel plating does not delaminate at high temperatures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If copper is used for cold plate construction, then thermal conductivity is improved, but corrosion resistance deteriorates due to oxidation and tarnishing when exposed to liquid coolant
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a nickel plating layer on the copper cold plate surface, creating a composite structure that combines the high thermal conductivity of copper with the corrosion resistance of nickel. The nickel layer acts as a protective barrier while allowing thermal energy to pass through to the coolant.
Solution Approach 2:
The nickel plating serves as an intermediary layer between the copper cold plate and the liquid coolant. This intermediate layer prevents direct contact between the copper and corrosive coolant, eliminating oxidation and tarnishing while maintaining efficient heat transfer.
2Reliability
If high temperature sealing process is used to assemble cold plate, then sealing integrity is improved, but Nickel plating integrity deteriorates due to delamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the sealing temperature parameter from high temperature to low temperature process. This parameter change ensures that the nickel plating remains intact and does not delaminate, while still achieving adequate sealing integrity through the low-temperature sealing method.
3Device complexity
If traditional air-cooling is used, then system complexity is reduced, but cooling efficiency deteriorates at high power consumption levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from air-cooling to liquid cooling by introducing a coolant circulation system with cold plates. This hydraulic approach enables significantly higher cooling efficiency for high-power semiconductor devices, despite the increased system complexity, by directly contacting the heat source with liquid coolant.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The protective Nickel layer prevents corrosion and maintains the cooling efficiency of the cold plates, effectively addressing the thermal management issues and extending the lifespan of the cooling systems by preventing copper oxidation.
Implementation Method 1
Applying a protective Nickel plating to the copper surfaces within cold plates to prevent oxidation and tarnishing
Implementation Method 2
using a low-temperature sealing process to maintain the integrity of the Nickel layer during assembly, ensuring the Nickel plating does not delaminate at high temperatures
Implementation Method 3
The semiconductor chips 201 operate they transfer heat to their respective cold plates 203, which, in turn, transfers the heat to fluid that runs through the cold plates 203
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus is described. The apparatus includes a cold plate having fluidic channels within the cold plate. The fluidic channels have protective material thereon such that when liquid coolant flows through the fluidic channels the protective material is between the liquid coolant and the cold plate's material, wherein, the protective material is to prevent reaction between the liquid coolant and the cold plate's material.